Garden Bloggers Blooms Day: Down-and-Outs

I know from November and December posts over the last couple of years that there will  always be something in bloom in the garden although not necessarily looking pristine, like these cosmos, zinnia and tithonia, all of which could perhaps be cut down now, although I hope to collect some seeds from the cosmos before they hit the compost heap. One cosmos head has just started to open up to expose seeds so I now know what to look for, although I have no idea whether it is too late to expect further seed production.

Less trampish are some of the roses, although not large in number. Top left is patio rose Queen Mother, who has surprisingly been at her best late in the season, and continuing clockwise are Pink Perpetué, Munstead Wood and Danse de Feu:

Reliably flowering for ridiculously long periods of time are some of the astrantia, here Bloody Mary and Buckland, and I really must get more of them:

There has been an occasional sighting of the odd primrose flower or two in the woodland, and I noted flowers on one of the pink potted ones that the birds love so much:

More pristine are these individual beauties (clockwise from top left) – a new flower on Echinops ‘Arctic Glow’, discovered when dead top growth was removed, a flower of Fuchsia ‘Deep purple breaking out of its fat bud, a single spike of Liriope muscari ‘Monroe White’ and one Geranium sanguineum under the clematis colonnade:

Although Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ and those baskets of petunias shown yesterday are still clinging on, there are now other goodies to look forward to, like the newly planted winter pansies, ‘Cool Wave Frost’:

Not surprisingly, frequent inspections are also made for the first flowers on our winter favourites, with buds visible on Helleborus niger, Sarcococca humilis and Lonicera fragrantissima, as well as those tiny specks of colour on the witch hazels. Let’s face it, though, whether pristine or not every bloom is a delight to see at this time of year, and these ‘out of season’ Garden Bloggers Blooms Days, a meme kindly hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens, encourage us to seek out blooms we might otherwise miss, like these lovely Fatsia japonica flowers which are way above my eye level. Do follow the link to Carol’s blog and see what blooms other gardeners have found in their gardens in the middle of November.